Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Horse Point

34.66°N · 76.57°W · Cape · Neuse and Bay Rivers

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Best score today · 8 AM · Little tunny

75/100Great
Now
508 PM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.8 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 PM · now

Time8PNOW
Score50Good
Tide1.8 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.2 kn
Wind12 kn NEgusts 22 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.2 ft · 4 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherOvercast96% chance of rain
Water81°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Little tunny is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NCDMF before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Little tunny is best here

Shoulder season for Little tunny · 1 more week at shoulder

Little tunny season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Little tunny · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Little tunny in North Carolina

Spot profile

Horse Point

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonLittle tunny

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Horse Point

Horse Point is a cape in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, king mackerel and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, little tunny, gray triggerfish and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cabs Creek

    Gut · 1.5 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Spot 72
    • Crevalle jack 66

    12 kt NEL 1:08 AM · 0.6 ftH 6:58 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Johnsons Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Spot 71
    • Florida pompano 64

    12 kt NEL 2:15 AM · 0.6 ftH 7:25 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Bald Hill Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Spot 71
    • Florida pompano 64

    12 kt NEL 2:15 AM · 0.6 ftH 7:25 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Back Sound

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Spot 71
    • Florida pompano 64

    12 kt NEL 2:15 AM · 0.6 ftH 7:25 AM · 1.6 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with NCDMF before you keep a fish.